


Wolf Pup

by Distopian



Category: Fae Tales - not_poignant
Genre: Childhood, Fanfic of the Author's fanfic of their own fanfic, Gen, Growing Up, Kid Fic, Lone Wolf AU, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2018-12-26 15:11:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12061542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Distopian/pseuds/Distopian
Summary: On the day he is born, Gwyn is taken to the Unseelie Court to be raised by a family of his own alignment. But Gwyn is no ordinary child, and the Raven Prince has plans for his future.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Lone Wolf](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3831187) by [not_poignant](https://archiveofourown.org/users/not_poignant/pseuds/not_poignant). 



> The first fic I've ever actually posted! I love this AU, and wanted to explore it more thoroughly.

When Gwyn was born, his mother refused to hold him. The shock and disgust running through her overtook everything else, and she screamed that she loathed him, wished him dead, would rather have died herself than carried such a thing inside her. And then she told her attendants to take the child away, to never let her see it again.

None of the servants knew what to do with the baby, so unnaturally silent, wide blue eyes gazing solemnly at whoever held him. The midwife, however, had seen situations before where a baby was born to a different alignment than its parents. She generally found it best to remove the baby from the situation as soon as possible to prevent the parents from bonding with a child they likely wouldn’t get to keep. She didn’t think that would be a problem in this situation, but thought it would be a good idea to move things along as quickly as possible in any case.

She pried the baby from the unresisting arms of the maid who had carried him from the birthing room, and teleported directly out of the An Fnwy household.

Appearing in the center of a small village, she strode down the cobbled street and up to a house with neatly trimmed hedges ringing a garden in front. Knocking sharply, she glanced around. This area was not dangerous, exactly, but she’d still prefer finish her business here quickly. Being surrounded by Unseelie fae always made her distinctly uncomfortable.

The door opened, and the she was greeted by a willowy man wearing a smile that quickly transformed into a grimace at the sight of the midwife and the bundle in her arms.

“Come inside, quickly,” he urged her.

She entered, glancing around the room.“You’ve redecorated.” Small changes: new paint on the walls, a larger bookshelf than she remembered overflowing with new tomes.

He was in no mood for niceties. “Tell me about the child.”

She sat in an armchair beside the currently unlit fireplace. “Not much to tell. Seelie parents, Court fae, and fairly high ranking at that. They didn’t have a contingency plan for the poor tyke being Unseelie.” Why would they, after all – the Ferch Fnwy family was known for always throwing Seelie. “Like as not they’ll pretend the boy didn’t survive his birthing. I wanted to get him out before any accidents could happen. He’s only a few hours old, yet.”

The man snorted. “The timing’s not ideal, but I’ve dealt with worse. Give him here, then.” He accepted the baby from the midwife, and peered at the sleeping face. “He have a name?”

“His mother had intended to call him Gwyn.”

“As good a name as any, I suppose. No last name?”

“I doubt his family would approve of him taking theirs.” Wincing internally, the midwife recalled Crielle’s reaction to the child. “No, he’ll have to do without for the time being. I’m sure that eventually he’ll earn a name for himself, something to distinguish him.”

The man nodded thoughtfully. “Well, I’ll make the arrangements.”

“I’d best be off, then. Good luck.” The midwife stood and teleported away in a puff of jasmine-scented air.

The man rocked the baby—Gwyn—gently in his arms. “I suppose it’s up to you now to make a good impression on His Majesty. You’re a handsome little fellow; I’m sure he’ll adore you. Put you with a nice family, someone who’ll raise you as their own. Everything will sort itself out, you’ll see.”

Gwyn stared back, his tiny, scrunched-up face somehow seeming dubious of the entire endeavor.

~*~

The Raven Prince narrowed his eyes at the infant before him. He placed a hand on the babe’s brow and sent a gentle pulse of magic through the boy’s body, investigating the nature of this unexpected find.   
When he felt the answering call of power, he barely managed to conceal his shock. It had been centuries since anyone had been born with this kind of power, and yet somehow this infant with amazing potential had just dropped right into his lap.

Thinking quickly on how best to respond, and knowing that the eyes of his court were upon him, the Raven Prince decided to take a chance on the child.

“I will take responsibility for his care. He will be a ward of the Unseelie court, under my direct protection,” he declared.

Beside him, Fluri raised an eyebrow. This was not quite the usual course of things. But this Gwyn was no usual child.

The Raven Prince gestured to one of the servants. “Fetch Helena,” he commanded. The servant hurried off. 

Fluri said, “I never thought you would have an interest in children, my Prince.” 

“Most children, perhaps not. However, this one has the potential for greatness within him. Yes, I think it worthwhile to take a personal interest.”

A few moments later, a large wolf prowled into the throne room. The man holding Gwyn jumped in shock, but none of the Courtiers seemed surprised.

Between one stride and the next, the wolf shifted into a tall, imposing woman. She finished her transformation just as she reached the bottom of the Raven Prince’s dais, and moved fluidly into a bow. When she arose, the Raven Prince saw curiosity in her eyes.

“Your Majesty. How may I be of service?”

“This child is to be a ward of the Court. I am giving him into your keeping until he is of an age to begin training, at which point you will oversee his studies.” The Raven Prince smiled as he regarded his spymaster.

Helena was wary of that smile. She knew that the Raven Prince never made a decision without reason, but she found herself perplexed by this new assignment; it was entirely outside the realm of her experience. But a command from her king required unquestioning obedience—at least, in front of the court. Helena resolved to question him later, when they had fewer eyes upon them.

She bowed once more to the Raven Prince. “As you command, my Prince, so it shall be.” She hesitated. “Do you have any special instructions?”

The Raven Prince smiled again, obviously seeing through her attempt at gathering more information. But then, he could expect no less from the one he employed specifically to root out secrets. “No, that will be all,” he replied cheerily. “Don’t worry, I am certain you shall excel at this task, as you have always done in the past.”

Helena rolled her eyes internally at the hint of an implied threat in his words. Really, he couldn’t think she was unaware of the consequences of failure.

She strode over to the child, gently taking him from the arms of the nervous-looking man who held him. “What is his name?” She asked.

“Gwyn,” the man replied shakily. She smiled slightly; it was always nice when her reputation preceded her.

She whispered, “Hello there, Gwyn. It’s nice to meet you.”


	2. Chapter 2

Helena hadn’t ever given much thought to having pups. Perhaps someday, she had supposed, if an opportunity presented itself. But no such opportunity had arisen, and lately she had been so busy with her web of plots and schemes that she had put such thoughts aside entirely in favor of managing all of her spies and informants.

But once Helena committed herself to a project, she had never given it any less than her best. She decided to approach this mission like any other, and divide the daunting task of caring for and raising a child into manageable steps. Step one: gather information and establish an immediate plan of action.

And so, when she departed from the Raven Prince’s throne room, she went not to her own home, but to her mother’s. It was time to learn how to raise a baby.

~*~

Helena appeared in front of a brightly painted door, and just the sight of it brought on a wave of nostalgia. A chill breeze swept past her, and Gwyn shifted in her arms, obviously uncomfortable with the sudden change in temperature.

The door opened, revealing a tall, thin woman with shoulder-length blonde hair, pale skin, and piercing amber eyes. Those eyes swept over Helena, taking in her court attire and the baby in her arms.

“It seems you have a story to tell, daughter-mine.”

“Less of one than you might expect,” Helena admitted.

“Well, you might as well come inside,” she said, standing aside to gesture Helena past her into the house.

Helena entered and looked around. The house had changed very little since she’d last been to visit—by the gods, almost a decade ago? Helena winced internally, knowing it was only a matter of time before her mother started to complain about how rarely she visited. She decided to preempt that particular conversation by conducting introductions.

“Mother, this is Gwyn,” she announced.

Her mother stepped closer, peering into the baby’s eyes. “Well, Gwyn, it’s nice to meet you,” She cooed. “My name is Daphne, but I bet that you’ll be calling me Grammy.”

Helena barely contained her groan. “Gwyn was given to me by His Majesty, to care for until he reaches adulthood.”

Daphne straightened abruptly. “I think I’ll have that story now, if you please.”

“That is the story.” Helena shrugged. “He’s an Unseelie baby from Seelie stock, so he gets placed with a family as the Raven Prince pleases.”

“Yes, with a family. Not a single woman without a partner or ties to a community.” Daphne’s voice was desert-dry.

“Who am I to question His Majesty’s decrees?” Helena gave a wry smile. “And what do you think I’m doing here, if not tapping into my community?”

~*~

Daphne was adamant that, while she was willing to help Helena get situated in terms of raising a child, she would not take over or do the bulk of the work. Helena, having no choice, agreed. Perhaps a part of her had wished for her mother to swoop in and solve everything, but she had known that was unlikely.

Daphne showed Helena how to soak a rag in goat’s milk for Gwyn to nurse at, how to burp him, how to bathe him, how to change his diaper, and countless other little skills that Helena, being a youngest child, had never had occasion to learn.

Sooner than she would have liked, Helena was called to return to court and resume her duties as spymaster. However, as Daphne pronounced her proficient in basic childcare, and reassured her that the rest would come with time, she had no real reason to delay.

And so, the day after she received the message, Helena found herself walking through the gates of the Unseelie Court, Gwyn strapped tight to her chest. She fed and burped him before leaving her mother’s house, and felt as prepared as he was going to get to face the day ahead. On the way to her office, she received several curious stares, but nobody seemed surprised at her carrying the child. Obviously, word had spread in her absence.

Reaching her office, she sat behind the large desk in the center of it and glanced over the paperwork. There were stacks and stacks of it; Helena thought wryly of how unattended paperwork always seemed to multiply. She noticed with pleasure that the crib she’d ordered had been delivered, and moved to gently place Gwyn inside of it. He grumbled a little and squirmed before falling back asleep.

With a sigh, Helena sat and began to look through the papers. It was good to be back in a situation that she knew how to handle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's read, left kudos, or commented! If you have ideas/suggestions for what might happen next, or characters you'd like to see more of, let me know.

**Author's Note:**

> What did you all think? Please keep in mind that my mantra while writing this was "It doesn't have to be good, it just has to get written," and be gentle with your criticism. Also, if anyone wants to beta read future chapters, let me know.


End file.
